AN: This is my take on where and who Mugen came from, and the circumstances surrounding his childhood. Warning: Obviously it's going to be rather dark, with quite a bit of violence and general unpleasantness. I don't intend to be too graphic, but there will be adult themes and some language. They don't really give you much for any of the characters' backgrounds in the anime, and I'm such a sucker for a backstory...if anyone enjoys it, let me know! Thanks to all who read!!!
Yuhana woke to a most familiar sound: crying. "Sister...", her little brother sniffled. "Sister...I'm hungry."
Her eyes were still blurry from sleep, but she rose up blinking and looked around the room. Dusty sunlight filtered in through the cracks in the boards that made their small home. Her mother was sleeping a few feet away, but she apparently hadn't brought home anything to eat during the night. It was their third day without food, and she felt more sorry for her little brother and sister, who weren't yet old enough to find ways of ignoring their hunger.
Yuhana sighed. It had always been this way. She was fifteen now, and was surprised herself that she had survived this long. She and her mother made their home on the outskirts of their small town in a thrown together shack, and things had only gotten harder after her little brother and sister arrived. She had never known her father, a young nobleman in whose home her mother used to work as a servant. Once the young man's mother discovered his indiscretions with Sachiko, the young maid was promptly thrown from the house. A few months later, Yuhana was born. Now, her mother went out at night and didn't say where, but Yuhana had her suspicions. Sometimes she came back with money or food, and sometimes she came back with neither.
A sharp wail broke her free of her thoughts. Her little sister, barely a year old, was awake now and very upset at her empty stomach. Sachiko stirred as well, casting a weary glance at her children, whose eyes were fixated on her. "I'm sorry," she started, "There isn't anything to eat today either, and crying isn't going to fill your stomachs." she said to Satoru, whose three year old mind had no idea what she was talking about.
"You're going to have to do something to help." she snapped at Yuhana. "Those little trinkets you make aren't doing much good to bring in any money or food either. You may as well resign yourself to my fate." she told her.
"Why?" Yuhana asked sharply. "We can all see how much more helpful it is than what I do." Her mother had been referring to the necklaces and things she sometimes strung together from the shells and stones by the sea. Other times, she made straw hats for travelers if she could find the materials, but that was rare. Once in a while, someone would take pity and buy some of her wares, and she could bring home some food for them. Sachiko only rolled her eyes and scoffed as she left the house. "Good luck with them." she spat as she left, shoving a thumb backwards over her shoulder. Yuhana looked around, and noticed that her little sister's cries were fading. She was lying down again, and her eyes were glazed over, almost unseeing. The little girl was eerily silent. She rushed over to her and she gave a small whimper. She realized then with a sick feeling that if the child didn't get some food soon, there would be no saving her.
"Satoru, no matter what, stay here and wait for me." she said, kneeling down and holding her little brother's shoulders. "I'll come back soon." she promised. The little boy nodded as he rubbed his hand under his running nose. She walked out into the bright hot day. Summer was at it's peak, and it was miserably hot even in the early morning. Grudgingly, she made her way into the inner part of town. She watched everything carefully. People were milling around the market, some of them in fine clothes, others in haphazard dress. The smell of an outdoor food vendor caught her nose, and her stomach cramped. She clenched her hands into fists. She would do what she had to now.
Two young merchants stood at the stand, waiting for their food; some sort of tempura and rice dish by the smell. She watched from the shade of a dry goods stand while they were served. One took a bite, and promptly showed off by making a scene. "You actually call this crap food?" he shouted at the owner. "I wouldn't let a dog eat that." he said, throwing his chopsticks at the old man. The two boisterously left, while the old man shouted apologies after them. While the vendor was distracted, Yuhana saw her chance to feed her younger siblings. She quietly snatched the two bowls from the counter, and quickly turned and ducked around the corner.
"Hey you little bitch! Just what do you think you're doing!" came the cry from inside the restaurant. Not fast or quiet enough to escape, she cursed herself, and started to run. The restaurant owner and another man burst through the side door and tackled her, wrestling her to the ground.
"Please, it's for my little brother and sister!" she cried as they hauled her to her feet. "Please, they haven't eaten in days!" she told them, tears finally making their way out of her eyes and onto the front of her ragged kimono.
"Why should I give a shit?" the old man snarled. "You're going to pay for thinking you could steal from me, you little whore. I run a respectable business and work too hard for snot nosed brats like you to think you can just walk up and take what you want!" he shouted, the back of his hand colliding with her face. "We'll just let the authorities deal with you."
After that, Yuhana's mind seem to wander into a kind of fog. She barely remembered the smell of the dirt and wood in her cell where she waited for trial. She couldn't recall the face of the man who condemned her to exile, or even his voice. As she sat chained on a ship bound for the Ryukyu islands, all she could see was the faces of the little children she had left to go find food, and almost all the hope she had ever stored in her heart died with the setting sun.
